GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The North Dakota football program will honor 22 current and former players that comprise the 2017 senior class in a special ceremony before Saturday’s contest with No. 19/21 Eastern Washington at the Alerus Center. Kickoff against the Eagles is set for 1 p.m. CT and will be televised on Midco Sports Network.THE BLITZ• UND has won its last six Senior Day contests dating back to the 2011 season, including a thrilling 38-31 victory over Northern Arizona last season that clinched a perfect league record and a share of the Big Sky title with the Eagles.• The Fighting Hawks and Eagles did not meet during last year’s campaign and are playing for the first time since Eastern posted a 54-3 victory over UND back in 2014 (Nov. 1).• UND will be looking for a different result this time around after suffering the program’s worst Division I loss on “The Inferno” that day.• Senior captain Keaton Studsrud was a true freshman back then and earned his first career start in that contest after the two quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart suffered serious injuries the week before. He has not relinquished the reigns since and owns a 20-14 record as UND’s starting quarterback.• The Eagles hold a 3-0 edge in the all-time series and have outscored UND 134-34. EWU’s only previous trip to Grand Forks resulted in a 35-17 win in 2013.• These two teams were ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation in the STATS FCS preseason poll. The Eagles were ranked fifth, while the Fighting Hawks were ranked eighth after both went undefeated in Big Sky play in 2016.• Despite back-to-back losses and a 5-4 overall record, the Eagles remained in the latest edition of both polls released Monday, falling to No. 19 in the STATS FCS poll and No. 21 in the FCS Coaches poll. • UND owns a 2-2 record at home this season and is 13-6 at the Alerus Center under the direction of head coach Bubba Schweigert.• The Eagles will be the fifth overall and second-consecutive ranked team that UND has faced this season. The Fighting Hawks are still in search of that elusive win over a ranked-foe this season.

LAST TIME OUT: SOUTHERN UTAH 47, UND 21An 18-yard scoring strike from Keaton Studsrud to Noah Wanzek on the opening drive of the second half pulled UND within six points at 27-21, but that would be as close as the Fighting Hawks would get in Cedar City last Saturday. UND would turn the ball over four times the remainder of the way, allowing No. 17 Southern Utah to score the final 20 points and avoid the Fighting Hawks’ upset bid. The T-Birds also earned a share of the lead in the Big Sky standings with its fifth-straight win.

SENIOR DAY SALUTEHere’s a list of the 22 current and former players along with some of their career accomplishments that will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony prior to kickoff:

SANTIA-GOING, GOING GONEJunior running back John Santiago became just the fourth player in UND history to eclipse the 3,000-yard career rushing mark in the 48-21 victory at Portland State (Oct. 28). Santiago achieved the feat on his final carry of the game when we he picked up six yards on a fourth-quarter attempt. He moved into third place on UND’s all-time rushing list with his 115-yard effort at Southern Utah (Nov. 4), pushing his career total to 3,117 yards.

The play most people will remember from the Portland State game was an electrifying, 64-yard punt return for a touchdown that ended up being the No. 2 play in the FCS that week. Santiago made multilple defenders miss, starting and stopping along the way to secure UND’s first punt return for a touchdown since the 2014 season. Former cornerback Alex Tillman had that one also against Portland State when he broke a school-record with a 95-yard effort in a home win over the Vikings.

RACKING UP THE YARDSJunior John Santiago added 170 all-purpose yards to his season total in Saturday’s loss at Southern Utah, pushing his FCS-leading total in that category to 1,665 yards this season (see page four for a complete breakdown of Santiago’s staggering stats). His 166.5 ypg average is tied for the FCS lead as well. With those 170 yards, he moved to third on UND’s all-time list in that category and now has 5,424 all-purpose yards in his 31 career games. That total ranks 13th all-time in Big Sky history and 12 players ahead of him on the list all played in 40 or more games. Santiago has played in 33 to get to that figure.

MAGIC WAND-ZEKFor the second time this season, sophomore wide receiver Noah Wanzek hauled in a pair of touchdown passes in the same game after finishing the Southern Utah contest with eight catches for 107 yards. He currently leads the team with five touchdown grabs on the season and also paces the Fighting Hawks in receptions (46), receiving yards (589) and 100-yard receiving games (3). Those eight grabs equaled his career-high he set in UND’s last home game vs. Sacramento State (Oct. 21).

THE RARE TRIFECTAAnytime a team can score on all three phases of a game, a positive result is likely to follow and that was the case in UND’s 48-21 victory at Portland State (Oct. 28). What makes the feat even more impressive is the Fighting Hawks completed the trifecta in the third quarter after going into the half trailing 14-13. Junior John Santiago provided the offensive (13-yard rush) and special teams (64-yard punt return) touchdowns, while defensive end Austin Cieslak capped the trifecta with a 5-yard interception return for a score.

ACTION JAXSONRedshirt freshman Jaxson Turner made his first career start a memorable one after finishing with a career-high eight tackles, including four tackles for loss and a sack at Portland State (Oct. 28). His individual efforts also led to both of UND’s defensive scores in the contest. He batted away a third-quarter pass attempt that fell right into the arms of teammate Austin Cieslak, who trotted into the end zone from five yards out. Then, his fourth-quarter strip sack was scooped up by Carter Wilson, who raced in from 50 yards out to cap the scoring in the 27-point victory. Turner was named an honorable mention honoree for STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week for his efforts.

HONORARY GAME CAPTAINThe final honorary game captain of the 2017 season is Bill Leifur. A three-sport star during his time at UND from 1959-62, Leifur was inducted into the UND Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a captain on the 1961 football team and his gridiron squads were undefeated against NDSU.

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